C A R E E R’ S
Why We Go Blank During
An Argument And How To
Overcome It
O
ne of the worst situations for any millennial is
walking out of an interview feeling like they could
have done better. It’s like, in that moment, you
realize what, or how you could have done that would
make you feel less like an idiot and more like someone
who is worth hiring. Basically, it feels like you suck at
elevator pitches, interview questions and any situation
that requires you to challenge, or defend an argument
with words that are not stupid. This is what you call the
spirit of the stairs!
What Is The Spirit Of The Stairs?
Once upon a time, 18th-century French philosopher,
Denis Diderot was at a dinner party, heatedly debating
a topic that he had mastered. Yet, when someone challenged him at a particular point, he was left at a loss of
words, incapable of proving his point. It could have been
that it just wasn’t his day, the moment had passed, or
so on. Whatever his reason was, he left the party soon
after, only to reach the bottom of the stairs, while on his
way out and realize that he had just found the perfect
retort. Alas! It was too late. The challenge had already
been lost. Diderot, therefore, went on to coin the phrase,
l’esprit d’escalier, or the spirit of the stairs. The idea
caught on like wildfire, with the Yiddish calling it trepverter; the Germans calling it treppenwitz, or as modernists
call it elevator wit.
How To Tell If You Have Experienced This?
I’ll make it easier for you. Yes, you have experienced it;
every one of you! So, no, you aren’t any different from
the rest of us. Still want to know how you experienced
it? Fine. In her book, ‘Presence’, Harvard Professor and
TED Talk Speaker, Amy Cuddy reveals signs of what
might be the spirit of the stairs. If, in any life, or work
situation, you walk away feeling like you have not given
your all, you have not put everything on the table, you
start to overanalyze all the ways it you could have done
better, to a point where it starts eating into you. It leaves
you feeling weak, inadequate and, well, like a total loser.
After interviewing for a job, auditioning for a role, pitching an idea, speaking up at a meeting, or in class, arguing with someone during a dinner party, or even going
on a date—every one of you has been there, done that,
messed up and felt so horribly awkward you wanted to
sneak back into bed without anyone noticing!
Why Does It Happen?
Let me go ou